Overdose Monitoring (OMARS)

The opioid crisis in Ontario is a growing and evolving problem. Having accurate data on the impact of opioids helps us to understand the extent of the opioid problem and support the development of services, supports and strategies to support the people who are directly impacted. Through OMARS (Overdose Monitoring, Alert and Response System), we aim to provide local and timely data on these issues through multiple tools:

Waterloo Region Overdose Bulletins:

Bulletins contain information about the number of calls to paramedic services (9-1-1) where overdose is the reason for the call, naloxone use in Waterloo Region, and other relevant data in order to raise awareness about the issue of overdose and its impact in our community. For more information about the bulletins, contact Region of Waterloo Public Health at 519-575-4400.

Paramedic Services Data:

Please click on the graph below to view our Live Dashboard of opioid-related overdose data. This information is updated bi-weekly and is gathered from local 911 call data.

Once you click on the graph, you can view different data sets by changing the option under the 'View' menu (left hand side of the graph).

Please note, that this data does not include people who overdose and do not access an emergency department. For more information on Paramedic Services data, contact Rob Crossan at rcrossan@regionofwaterloo.ca

Waterloo Regional Police Service Data:

This number represents calls for service that the Waterloo Regional Police Service has attended where a death has occurred and where a drug overdose is suspected. Please note that while a drug overdose is suspected, it is not confirmed.

Year

Number (running total)

2017

65*

(updated Nov.27/17)

*this number includes suspected drug overdoses and is not limited to opioids

Ontario’s Interactive Opioid Tool

PHO’s new Interactive Opioid Tool allows you to explore long-term trends for opioid-related data on emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths. This is the first tool in Ontario to provide data at the PHU and LHIN levels. This will help inform action at the local and provincial level, and evaluate the impact of policies and interventions.

Key findings:

There has been a steady increase in opioid-related harms in Ontario for more than a decade.